A group of about 20 politicians and cultural figures in Germany have signed and sent a letter to the prosecutor's office against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his statements about Israel's actions against Iran, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper reports.
The statement has been submitted to the German Chief Prosecutor's Office and the Berlin prosecutor's office. Among the signatories are artists, musicians and actors, publicist Patrick Baab - a politician from the "Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice" (BSW), as well as Michael von der Schulenburg, who represents the BSW in the European Parliament. The signatories of the statement demand legal consequences for the chancellor for his words.
The authors of the document emphasize that Merz violated "the idea of international understanding" and "the peace mandate", both of which are enshrined in the German constitution.
"Now the German chancellor is quoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claims to have prevented the creation of an Iranian nuclear bomb", the authors of the statement note, although US intelligence services deny this.
"It should be added that Netanyahu has been publicly talking about the Iranian nuclear bomb being close to completion since 2002, that is, for 23 years", the authors note.
The statement, the Berliner Zeitung writes, accuses Merz of using Nazi vocabulary. Activists point out the similarity of the German chancellor's words to statements by SS Obersturmführer August Hefner, who ordered the shootings in Babi Yar and calls them "dirty work".
On Tuesday, Merz, speaking on ZDF television about the Jewish state's operation against Iran, said: "This is dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us". The chancellor said he respected the Israeli army and leadership for their actions in the conflict with Iran.